All wines purchased upon release, many purchased importer-direct, and all stored in a purpose built redundant temperature and humidity controlled cellar.

The 2017 AR.PE.PE. Valtellina Superiore Sassella "Stella Retica" is a stunning, deeply expressive alpine Nebbiolo (locally called Chiavennasca) from Lombardy, Italy. Crafted by the Pelizzatti Perego family—absolute pioneers in the modern rebirth of alpine wines—this cuvée takes its name from stella alpina (edelweiss), the mountain flower the children hunted for on the jagged slopes of the Alps.

The 2017 vintage combines AR.PE.PE.’s hallmark structural finesse with a beautiful, mineral-drenched, stony energy.

• Nose: Highly fragrant, pure, and elegant. It leaps from the glass with heady aromas of red cherry, woodland berry, wild rose, and orange peel, underpinned by camphor, white pepper, and a striking graphite minerality.
• Palate: Light to medium-bodied, lithe, and transparent. Juicy flavors of crushed strawberry, sour cherry, and cranberry are framed by savory accents of cured tobacco, anise, and a distinct granitic stoniness.
• Structure: It balances high natural acidity with polished, taut, dusty tannins that lend a linear, persistent, and graceful finish.

• Terroir: The fruit is entirely hand-harvested from steep, terraced vineyards sitting 400 to 500 meters above sea level on the Rhaetian side of the Alps. The vines range from 50 to 100 years old, clinging tightly to granitic soils braced by hand-built dry-stone walls.
• Patience: True to the estate's philosophy that Nebbiolo demands time, the grapes undergo a massive 120-day skin maceration, followed by 18 months of maturation in large 50HL untoasted chestnut/oak casks, and an additional 24 months of refinement in the bottle before release.

93 CellarTracker

Ol’ reliable! Our daily. Man is this a consistent wine. Light, fresh, stunning. ArPePe to me is a producer I hold near and dear to my heart. What they are doing in Valtellina is out of this world and this is just their entry wine. Aged nearly as long in barrels as Barbaresco and held in bottle for years before release. The cold climate of the Alps brings an almost completely transparent Burgundian color that mesmerizes the eyes. Dried cherry, strawberry jam, raspberry compote, subtle oak & leather. This has many decades left to age, but it’s so so SO enjoyable today. 6/18/2026

94 Wine Enthusiast

Fragrant and loaded with finesse, this lovely red opens with heady aromas of woodland berry, wild rose and camphor. Lithe and delicious, the elegant palate offers juicy red cherry, crushed strawberry, baking spice and a tangy mineral note suggesting granite. It's well balanced, with polished tannins and fresh acidity. Drink through 2032. (KO) December 2021